Portable audio player

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an MP3 compatible, portable, digital audio player. The audio player ( 11 ) of the present invention has a base member ( 12 ) and a cover member ( 14 ) pivotably attached thereto. The cover member ( 14 ) of the present invention has a perforated portion ( 36 ) and at least one speaker receptacle ( 28 ) capable of releasably engaging one or more audio speakers. The audio speakers ( 30 ) of the present invention may be removed and positioned apart from the audio player such that the user may have an enjoyable listening experience without the need for conventional headphones.

This patent application is based upon and claims priority from aprovisional patent application entitled “Portable Audio Player”, Ser.No. 60/376,890, having a filing date of Apr. 30, 2002.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to portable audio players and,more particularly, to a portable, MP3 compatible audio player havingremovable speakers.

BACKGROUND OF TIE INVENTION

Audio players and specifically, portable audio players, have evolveddramatically in the past 70 years. The first portable audio player was aminiaturized radio device, known as a radio transistor, which included acompact solid-state device including a semiconductor having three ormore electrodes. Some years later, analog recording technology allowedinput audio waves to be converted to analog audio waves, thus makingcassette tapes utilizing magnetic tape the dominant design in theportable audio player industry.

In the late 1980's, compact discs and compact disc players became widelyutilized to record and play audio information. Compact discs includedigital audio information and are superior to analog audio tapes interms of durability and quality.

The most recent development in portable audio players is the chip-baseddigital player. A digital audio player includes an audio chip and astorage device capable of recording, storing, and playing digital audioinformation. Typically, an audio chip is designed to compress anddecompress audio digital data in order to save memory space. Digitalaudio players, such as MP3 players, have become feasible for the averageconsumer due to the co-evolution of miniaturized high-capacity digitalstorage devices and digital information compression techniques. Portableaudio players capable of playing MP3 media typically resemble aconventional compact disc player. Specifically, known digital audioplayers typically require the use of headphones by the consumer. Thereremains a need for a digital audio player compatible with MP3 technologythat provides the consumer with an enjoyable listening experiencewithout the need for headphones.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention provides an MP3 compatible, portabledigital audio player having one or more speakers. The audio player ofthe present invention comprises a base member having a media receptorfor receiving one or more compact discs containing audio information. Acover member capable of rotating about an axis of rotation is pivotablyattached to the base member. The cover member of the present inventionis equipped with one or more receptacles for receiving one or more audiospeakers. In one embodiment, at least a portion of the cover member ofthe present invention is perforated such that sound may readily passthrough the cover member. Thus, speakers may be placed within one ormore speaker receptacles of the cover member such that the audio playerof the present invention becomes a self-contained, portable, digitalaudio player.

The audio player of the present invention allows one or more speakers tobe retained within the speaker receptacle or removed therefrom dependingon the individual preference of the user. In one embodiment, the covermember of the present invention is equipped with two speakerreceptacles. Thus, the user may remove each speaker from the covermember and position them apart from the audio player. This allows theuser to experience “stereo sound” without the use of headphones.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendantadvantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front, perspective view of one embodiment of the presentinvention illustrating the cover member in an open position and twospeakers positioned in “stand-alone” mode.

FIG. 2 is a front, perspective view of one embodiment of the presentinvention illustrating the receptacle cover in an open position.

FIG. 3 is a rear, right side perspective view of one embodiment of thepresent invention illustrating speakers removably attached to speakerreceptacles.

FIG. 4 is a left side, rear perspective view of the present inventionillustrating the interplay between the speakers and receptacles in oneembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is herein described as a portable audio devicecomprising a housing (10), an audio player (11) within the housing forreceiving and playing audio media, and at least one speaker (30) foroutputting audio data to the user. In one embodiment, the presentinvention is equipped with a base member (12) and a cover member (14)rotatably attached thereto. In one embodiment, the base member (12) ofthe present invention has one or more media receptors (12R) capable ofreceiving one or more compact disks (not shown). A media cover (12C)capable of rotation about an axis of rotation (A) is provided to coverthe media receptor (12R) during operation of the audio player of thepresent invention. In one embodiment, the media cover (12C) is equippedwith a transparent viewing port (12P) to allow the user to view thecompact disk (not shown) during operation of the audio player.

The present invention utilizes a plurality of buttons (16) and accessports (18). Each button and access port (16 and 18, respectively) iscapable of providing the user with convenient control over the operationof the audio player of the present invention. The buttons could belocated on the base member (12) or the cover member (14). The buttonscould include controls for opening the media cover (12C); CD/MP3operation such as stop, play/pause, fast forward or reverse, skipforward or reverse; tuner and tuner operation; mode/dir; EQ prog.;SAS/+10, ST/Mono; Presets; and snooze/light. The buttons could alsoinclude alarm mode, multiple alarms, alarm on/off, and sleep. The radiobuttons could include world/local, set, up, and down. Additionalcontrols for volume and bass boost could be included. Parts couldinclude power supply, left and right speaker outlets, and headphonejack.

The audio player of the present invention provides a cover member (14)capable of rotation about an axis of rotation (B). In one embodiment,the cover member (14) is rotatably attached to a first end of the basemember (12) such that the cover member (14) is rotatable between aclosed position and an open position. Upon attaining a closed position,the cover member (14) acts as a protective cover for the base member(12). In one embodiment, a hook and latch arrangement (26) is providedto hold the cover member (14) in a closed position, when desired.

In one embodiment, the cover member (14) of the audio player of thepresent invention is equipped with one or more speaker receptacles (28)for receiving one or more audio speakers (30). The audio player (10) ofthe present invention provides one or more audio speakers (30) capableof engaging the speaker receptacles (28) of the cover member (14). Inone embodiment, each speaker (30) is equipped with at least one audioport (30A) and at least one stand member (30S). In one embodiment, eachspeaker receptacle (28) is equipped with a connection member (28C)designed to engage the audio port (30A) of the speaker (30). Thus, thepresent invention is capable of transmitting sound to the user withoutthe use of headphones while the speaker (30) is engaged within thespeaker receptacle (28) of the cover member (14). In one embodiment, theaudio player of the present invention utilizes two audio speakers (30)capable of releasably engaging two speaker receptacles (28) located uponthe rear surface (14R) of the cover member (14). In one embodiment, thespeaker receptacles (28) and the speakers (30) of the present inventionare equipped with at least one channel (32) and groove (34) arrangementto facilitate the secure engagement of the speakers (30) to the speakerreceptacle (28). In another embodiment, multiple channel/groovearrangements are utilized by the present invention.

In one embodiment, at least a portion of the cover member (14) of thepresent invention has a perforated surface (36). The perforated surface(36) allows sound produced by speakers (30) secured to the speakerreceptacles (28) of the audio player to pass through the cover member(14). This feature of the present invention allows the user toexperience rich sound quality regardless of his or her position relativeto the audio player. In one embodiment, each audio speaker (30) utilizedby the present invention is capable of transmitting sound in multipledirections, thus further enhancing the listening experience of the user.

In one embodiment, each speaker (30) of the present invention may beremoved from the speaker receptacle (28) and used in a stand-alone mode.Specifically, each speaker (30) is equipped with a substantially flatsurface (30B) which allows each speaker to “stand on its own” apart fromthe audio player. In one embodiment, each speaker (30) of the presentinvention has a generally C-shaped configuration and is equipped with astand member (30S) capable of reducing instability of the speaker oncepositioned apart from the audio player.

Once removed from the speaker receptacle (28), the speaker (30) may beconnected to the audio device via an audio cable (38). Thus, soundproduced by the audio player of the present invention may be transmittedthrough the audio cable (38) for enjoyment by the user without the needfor headphones. In one embodiment, two audio speakers (30) are utilizedto provide the user with a “surround sound” listening experience. Inthis embodiment, each audio speaker (30) utilizes a separate audio cable(38) to transmit sound from the player to the speakers. In anotherembodiment of the present invention, sound is transmitted from theplayer to the speakers (30), without the use of audio cables. The audioplayer may transmit sound through the two audio speakers (30) whileremovably secured to the cover member (14) and simultaneously throughadditional speakers (not shown) connected to the audio player via theaudio cable (38) resulting in more than two speakers providing richstereo sound.

In one embodiment, the cover member (14) is equipped with a displayscreen (40) capable of displaying a plurality of graphical or textualinformation to the user. The audio device of the present invention mayalso be equipped with a clock having alarm functions for the convenienceof the user, if desired.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a specificembodiment, this description is not meant to be construed in a limitingsense. On the contrary, various modifications of the disclosedembodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art uponreference to the description of the invention. It is thereforecontemplated that the appended claims will cover such modifications,alternatives, and equivalents that fall within the true spirit and scopeof the invention.

1. A portable audio device comprising: a housing comprising a basemember and a cover member, said cover member being rotatably attached tosaid base member such that said cover member is capable of movementbetween an open position and a closed position said cover member havinga face surface having at least two perforated portions and a backsurface, said back surface having at least two speaker receptacles; anaudio player within said housing for receiving and playing audio media;and at least two speakers for outputting audio data, said speakers beingremovably receivable within said at least two receptacles upon said backsurface of said cover member, wherein each of said receptacles furthercomprises means for electrically connecting said speakers to said audioplayer; wherein said at least two perforated portions are locatedadjacent to said receptacles such that sound from said speakers may passtherethrough; and wherein said base member further comprises a mediacover rotatably attached to said base member; said media cover beingrotatable about an axis of rotation and moveable between open positionand a closed position.